Why Are Singaporeans So Dependent On Maids?

Hello everyone. I have had a very interesting discussion with a fellow blogger of mine Jeraldine about the culture of maids in Singapore and how British people simply manage to do without maids. She did ask a very good question which I felt would make an excellent topic for a blog post, "How do dual income families take care of children and older parents? Do they hire a nanny? I guess for Singaporeans they are complaining that the cost of eldercare is way too expensive. Would you think Singapore has a inadequate social support system for the aged or sick compared to the UK?" Thank you for the questions, I shall answer them by comparing the differences between the UK and Singapore.

How do you feel about having domestic help?

Firstly, the key difference between Singapore and the UK is the availability of cheap domestic helpers: in Singapore, there seems to be an almost endless supply of maids from neighbouring countries willing to do such work for very little money. In the UK, sure you can get maids (local or foreign) but the pay is a lot more. Let's put some figures on it. In Singapore, the latest legislation introduced means that you have to pay maids at least S$15 a day now (this figure doesn't include fees paid to the agencies involved). In the UK, even the cheapest options come in at about £350 a week (that's £50 a day, or S$107.80 at today's exchange rate). So that makes it over seven times the price in Singapore: a simple reason why maids are so expensive in the UK are the fact that it is hard to get hold of this supply of maids from poor countries willing to do this kind of work for S$15 a day. I'm sure Indonesian or Sri Lankan maids would gladly work in the UK for that kind of money, but our government's legislation forbids employers from using unskilled labour from such countries outside the UK.

In the UK, we can draw upon labour from poorer EU countries like Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, These countries are relatively poorer that the UK, which is why many Romanian and Bulgarian migrant workers come to the UK in search for well-paid work. But then again, Romania and Bulgaria are not so poor that the migrant workers from these countries will work for S$15 a day - hell no, instead, they come to the UK and work for the same (or just very slightly less) than what the locals are paid, so it is worth the move to the UK. Don't forget, your Romanian migrant worker still shops at the local supermarket and pays the same for food as your locals do. He pays the same kind of rent for properties to live in as the locals do. He pays the same fares on public transport as the locals do - in fact, his outgoings and expenditures will be pretty much the same as the locals, so if he wants to save any money by working here in the UK, he needs to be paid pretty much the same as the locals; otherwise he is better off staying in Romania (where everything is so cheap, compared to the UK). Furthermore, many Romanians and Bulgarians migrants do want to stay in the UK and they can (no ifs, no buts, no work permit - they are EU citizens and it is their right to do so).

Eastern European migrants usually expect to be paid the same as British locals.

Of course, rich British families can afford to hire servants or maids but many actually prefer not to. I think this is a cultural issue, many of you who watch period dramas like Downton Abbey may be under the impression that the rich in Britain all have loads of servants, but times have changed. If you live in or close to a city center, then properties are expensive and there is a question of space: if you have a live-in domestic helper, where will she sleep? This is far less of an issue for those living in more rural areas, where property prices are far lower. We simply do not view domestic helpers as a necessity, more like a luxury that many choose to do without.

There is also a cultural issue as well, about "having an invisible stranger in the house". My sister's maid is often given cleaning tasks to keep her occupied, but when she has a moment to rest, she simply sits on a chair in the kitchen or living room and stares into space. When I am around, I would try to be social with her, I would ask her about her hometown in Indonesia, about her family and things like that. I would also talk about my experiences traveling through Indonesia and have a laugh with her about it. And the rest of my family stare at me like I am so freaking weird because nobody does that in Singapore - that's right, in Singapore, the culture is simply to ignore the maid, ignore the fact that she is a human being with feelings and simply treat her like part of the furniture. I can't do that. Most Brits would feel uneasy about this "having an invisible stranger in the house" scenario - simply because our culture is very different.

I enjoy talking with maids - is that so unusual?

Here's our approach to this: nannies, baby sitters, carers and other professionals hired to care for the children and elderly are treated with respect and dignity in the UK. Those who use the services of such professionals recognize that they are well-trained, highly educated professionals providing a very vital service, so there will be friendly conversations and cordial relationships with them (unlike the way most of my family chooses to ignore the maid). Many of us working professionals also use the services cleaners who come in during the day (whilst we're out at work) to do the heavy-duty cleaning (mopping the floor, cleaning the windows and toilets, scrubbing kitchen surfaces, sometimes ironing clothes etc) and these people rarely cross paths with their employers - but when they do, they will once again be treated with civility and respect. Needless to say, everyone from nannies to cleaners to baby sitters to carers are paid far more in the UK than their counterparts in Singapore.

Otherwise, most of us value our privacy enough to make the time do the necessary domestic chores. Modern life makes it all a lot easier than the old days: if you don't want to cook dinner, no problem - just phone for a take-away that will be delivered to your doorstep. Don't want to do the laundry? Just take your dirty shirts down to the laundromat where someone will wash them and iron them for you. Don't want to do any of the cleaning in the house? Just hire a cleaner to come in and do the cleaning whilst you're at work. In fact, it is not so much the domestic chores that one really needs domestic help for, even in Singapore, it is often childcare and care for the elderly where they play a vital role given that most adults work very long hours and thus have little spare time to care for their children and parents.

Singaporeans working hours vs British working hours

It is not like British people work such short hours they are able to rush home from the office at 5 pm sharp everyday to spend time with their families. Firstly, the issue of childcare is often dealt with through the education system. For example, school usually starts at 9 am in the UK but that's the same time the parents are expected to start work at the office, so unless your child's school is literally a few minutes walk from your office, you will end up dropping your child off at school closer to 8 am rather than 9 am, just so you can then make the commute to the office. Fear not, for parents in this position, there is always "the breakfast club" concept - basically, children who arrive at school at 7:30 am or 8 am can pay to take part in "breakfast club" programmes where they can do all kinds of activities from sports to music to learning foreign languages, a good breakfast will be served as well in this period. This business model is replicated after school - "the after school club" concept is identical: you get a whole range of activities offered to keep children gainfully occupied in school between their last lesson until the time the parents get out of the office.

To be frank, I think this is a much better model than what happens in Singapore - it is far better for a child to be in the care of highly trained professionals, learning something that is extremely beneficial for their education than to be left in the care of maids who are paid S$15 a day. You cannot expect the maid who is paid so little to provide you with quality childcare - that is not what they are trained for and certainly that is not what you are paying for at S$15 a day. Would you trust your maid to help your children with their homework? And to be fair, many Singaporean parents do send their children to a whole range of interesting after school activities (well, including tuition) to keep their children occupied from the time they get out of school till dinner time, but I find the practice of using maids for childcare purposes deplorable. Children will simply default to playing computer games and wasting their time on other vapid, stupid crap.

As for the elderly, well the short answer is that British people take care of themselves and state steps in and takes care of the elderly when no one else will. Again, this is work done by professionals who are trained to cater to the needs of the elderly - I find it equally deplorable that so many Singaporeans depend on untrained maids to do this kind of work. There is often a language barrier with the foreign maids who are unable to communicate with the elderly in languages like Hokkien or Mandarin. The elderly may have certain medical conditions that require special attention - something your average domestic maid is simply not qualified to deliver. Most of the elderly are quite happy to retain their independence and lead an active life - it is really only those who have debilitating medical conditions who need special care and I stress that this special care should be delivered by trained professionals, not untrained maids. Of course, maids can lessen the burden that the elderly face when doing domestic tasks like cooking and cleaning, but they should not be used to deliver childcare or care for the elderly.

The key difference is that the elderly in the UK are able to get a lot of this care for free - the state will pay for well-trained professional carers to take care of these old people. Some will receive daily visits from their carers whilst others will live in facilities where the staff will take care of them: the state will either pay for all or this or part of this. Hey, it's pay back after having paid a lifetime of taxes, the state will take care of you when you need help. In Singapore, you don't pay as much taxes but the elderly are expected to either fend for themselves when they are old and frail or depend on their extended family network for care and support. That is a model that favours young people who wish to have more disposable income and pay less taxes, but where does that leave older people who don't have children or for whatever reason, cannot depend on their children? What if you have children who are disabled, unemployed, suffering from long-term or terminal illness, unable to make ends meet or can't even take care of themselves for one reason or another? At least in the UK, the state provides a safety net - in Singapore, there is no safety net at all, you are totally on your own. As you say in Singlish, "you poor, your fault - you die, your problem."

Some Singaporeans have postulated that British people have such short working hours that the adults are able to fulfill a lot more of these domestic duties without having to use maids - that's not completely true. Whilst our working hours are a lot shorter than those in Singapore, British adults are not as domestic as you may think. It's not like all British wives and mothers are able to cook like Nigella Lawson or Delia Smith - if they get out of work early, they are probably more likely to go attend a yoga class or catch up with some old friends at wine bar rather than rush home to bake some special home-made bread for their children. Rather, they are happy to pay professionals to care for their families rather than try to do everything themselves - it's just that these professionals are not domestic maids.

By the same token, British children tend to be a lot more independent than their Singaporean counterparts: Singaporean parents feel the need to put so much pressure on their children to excel academically they often never let their children do any domestic chores. My nephew doesn't have to lift a finger - the maid is instructed to look after his every need so he has more time to study. I am genuinely appalled by the way he doesn't know how to eat fruits lychees, longans or rambutans without somebody (usually the maid) peeling it and deseeding it for him. I swear I knew how to eat such fruits when I was about 4 or 5 years old - times were different back then. Mind you, I don't blame my nephew per se for this situation, I blame the adults in his life for having created this situation. Thus British parents don't feel the need to use domestic help in a way their Singaporean counterparts do - so if a British child spends 30 minutes helping his mother out in the kitchen instead of studying, that is seen as a good use of time. The child is learning how to cook and they are spending quality time together, it gives them the opportunity to chat and catch up. But in Singapore, that same scenario would be frowned upon, "Aiyoh that mother so irresponsible, make the boy help out in the kitchen when he should be studying! What kind of mother would do that?" Different cultures, different standards.

Do you know how to serve a mango if I gave you one?

Personally, no, I don't have a maid, never had one and probably never will. Some Singaporeans may look at my situation and think, damn why is he so poor? There are several reasons why I do not have a maid even if I can afford one. Mostly it is because I don't feel like I need one - I am pretty good in the kitchen and am happy enough to do domestic chores. I have a cleaner who comes in weekly to help me with the heavy duty cleaning stuff and that is good enough for me. I guess my situation is pretty average in the UK where getting any kind of domestic help is a lot more expensive than in Singapore. In any case, most British adults stop living with their parents once they turn 18 or 21 - when they first move out, they usually share a flat or a house with some friends, so that kind of living arrangement gives them the experience needed to manage a household in the future without the help of domestic servants.

So that's it from me on this issue - yes the culture is different here and I hope I have managed to explain why most Brits manage to get by without domestic help. Do let me know if you have any questions. Many thanks for reading!